Reporting uncertified science in the news media during the Covid-19 pandemic

Preprints have established a stable position in the dissemination of scientific findings. This position has been reinforced by the Covid-19 pandemic, which required the rapid dissemination of new scientific information. However, in most cases, preprints have not undergone peer review and, as a consequence, lack the scientific rigor of other scientific publications such as journal articles. This presents a challenge for journalists who are tasked with keeping the public informed about the latest scientific developments in the context of great uncertainty during a global pandemic. Having to report on rapidly changing circumstances under increasing pressure from social media while also having to compete for attention in a saturated media landscape might place strain on the adherence to journalistic norms. This does not only have implications in terms of the case-by-case accuracy of reporting, but on the public perception of science at large.

This paper investigates the reporting of scientific information from pre-preprints based on a sample of 2,877 online news articles related to Covid-19 in the South African news media. Our results show that despite the publication of guidelines for reporting on preprints in the media, there is still a way to go regarding the judicious use of scientific information from preprints by journalists.

The dataset includes the table of the 2,877 online news articles as well as the analysis done (as separate tables).

Fields in the dataset: Full Text, Headline, ID, Publication Date, Site Name,URL,Syndicated, Covid-related scientific research findings,
Preprint, Title, Authors,DOI, Archive / journal, URL